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"The '50s, though... are still pretty sexist and racist." "It always gets better, just never fast enough." "And some things never change." "Can't hurt to try, though." "Well, it could... if we lose control of the timeline and it goes skidding off the road."
In the early hours, teenagers Biff and Barb lie in the back of a truck in Nevada, spending the night looking at the sky. Biff insists he saw a flying saucer there before, though Barb says she assumed he had just said that to get her to come out with him. They go to kiss, but are interrupted when Zephyr One bursts into the sky out of nowhere, arriving via time jump from 1931, causing Barb to scream.[2][3]
Zephyr One falls, having been grounded when it jumped, but pulls out of the dive through autopilot. The team land and realize they are in the desert. Jemma Simmons tunes into the radio, which reveals to the team that they are in 1955. "Phil Coulson" checks their location and finds they are near Area 51.[2][3]
Luke and Abel visit Sibyl, the Chronicom predictor, telling her about S.H.I.E.L.D. jumping through time with them. Abel says they should be set to detonate upon compromise, as then Cain could have killed the agents, but Sibyl says that that would scatter futuristic technology in the past and hasten the formation of S.H.I.E.L.D.. Luke says they have sent Chronicom Hunters in to infiltrate Project Helius, which Sibyl explains she has seen using the Time Stream could be a viable plan.[2][3]
Director Alphonso Mackenzie berates Daisy Johnson for abandoning their mission to have Freddy Malick killed, reminding her that would have given the Chronicoms what they wanted. He tells Deke Shaw to follow his orders as well, as an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.. Simmons tells the team they are jumping forward through time in the wake of the Chronicoms, but that she does not know how many jumps there will be.[2][3]
"Coulson" tells the team that Area 51 is a S.H.I.E.L.D. base, and that the target in 1955 could be Project Helius, which Simmons notes was an early attempt at an ion fusion reactor, and Shaw and Johnson realize could potentially be used by the Chronicoms to destroy them.[2][3]
Mackenzie and Rodriguez share a few moments together
The team visit the Flying Rocket Diner, where Mackenzie tells Yo-Yo Rodriguez he likes her new arms. She admits to having failed to use her speed at the speakeasy, which Mackenzie chalks up to the Shrike poisoning. Rodriguez says she feels vulnerable, but Mackenzie reminds her she is still a good agent regardless.[2][3]
Kidnapping of Gerald Sharpe: At the diner, "Coulson" tells Johnson he feels something is wrong with May, due to her lack of reaction to him. He is excited by being in the 1950s, considering it a golden age of innovation. "Coulson" watches as their mark, Gerald Sharpe from the Department of Defense, arrives. Johnson offers him her creamer, slipping a sedative in before he takes it, and when he passes out, the agents kidnap him.[2][3]
Rodriguez and Mackenzie tie Sharpe up in a tent aboard Zephyr One. May visits the group, not resting as instructed, and learns what is happening. Shaw is surprised she takes no time to let the information sink in. Mackenzie confirms "Coulson" and Simmons are headed to Area 51, with Johnson explaining "Coulson" took Sharpe's ID, while for Simmons, they had to be creative.[2][3]
"Coulson" and Simmons are let through to Area 51. "Coulson" introduces himself as Sharpe, and the security assumes Simmons is his secretary, but "Coulson" says it is his boss, as Simmons pulls out the ID they have made: Peggy Carter's, with Simmons posing as her. Security lets her through, saying it is an honor.[2][3]
Dr. Pascal Vega shows "Sharpe" and "Carter" the Area 51 S.H.I.E.L.D. laboratory, with the agents pretending to be impressed by the old inventions, including an EMP. He shows them a camera feed of Helius, out on the testing field, championing the idea of an ion fusion reactor. "Coulson" asks to speak to all the scientists who arrived that day, in the hope of rooting out any Chronicom infiltrators. "Coulson" activates his camera glasses, relaying a picture back to Zephyr One.[2][3]
Rodriguez and Mackenzie interrogate Sharpe, who pretends to be distressed, before revealing he is unfazed. He calls them communists, is demeaning to Rodriguez, and belittles Mackenzie, telling them he wrote the field manual on interrogation and resistance, so cannot be broken.[2][3]
"Coulson" and Simmons sit the scientists down, and decide to test triggering an emotional response from them to confirm them each as not Chronicoms. The pair try various tactics, eliciting reactions from each of the scientists, clearing them all. Vega asks the pair if they want to hold the VIP arrivals on the bus outside, so they can clear each of those arrivals, which "Coulson" agrees to do.[2][3]
As "Coulson" heads to the bus, Daniel Sousa pulls up at Area 51 and gets out of his car. Security tells him Peggy Carter is present, asking Sousa if he knows her, which Sousa notes he certainly does.[2][3]
Johnson and Shaw go through S.H.I.E.L.D. files, and Shaw broaches the subject of her having ordered him to kill a young man. She says that she feels they failed to save many lives, but Shaw is not happy that she left him to be responsible. Among the files, Johnson notices Daniel Sousa's, realizing that Peggy Carter's former partner is at the base.[2][3]
Sousa enters the base, expecting to see his ex-girlfriend, only to instead find a woman he does not know. Sousa pretends to believe Simmons is Carter, as she tells him about her suspicions of an infiltrator. Sousa explains he has flown in from Los Angeles, where he is head of the former SSR base, and Simmons realizes who he is, and that her cover is blown. Sousa arrests her.[2][3]
"Phil Coulson" provokes emotional responses from the bus arrivals, finding the ones he checks to be humans. He is interrupted when Daniel Sousa steps onto the bus and calls for his arrest. "Coulson" is amazed to see the famous agent, and sends another picture from his glasses back to Zephyr One.[2][3]
On Zephyr One, Alphonso Mackenzie checks a list of names Deke Shaw has managed to find for attendees of the Project Helius trial, finding they are early S.H.I.E.L.D. power players. Melinda May gets back from a failed interrogation of Gerald Sharpe, after he was racist toward her, and she, Mackenzie, and Rodriguez send Shaw in, in the hope that Sharpe will respond to a white man.[2][3]
Sousa sends security to investigate how the two infiltrators he has found got in. He gets back to his Area 51 office, only to find Daisy Johnson waiting for him. When he asks who she is, she claims to be from the CIA, and says she knows about the moles who got in. He asks if she is there about the report he sent the CIA about a potential S.H.I.E.L.D. infiltration post-World War II, and Johnson says he is not crazy, but that if he takes her to the moles, they could provide proof.[2][3]
Interrogating Sharpe, Shaw pretends to be congratulating him on successfully completing an interrogation test so as to get him to talk, but Sharpe sees through the ruse. Sharpe mentions, however, that nothing on Earth is powerful enough to get Helius up to velocity. Shaw leaves the tent, and Sharpe starts using his teeth to free his binds.[2][3]
Shaw tells the others that he has realized that since the Chronicoms need something unearthly to power Helius, they will be using one of themselves as a power source, like Enoch did in 2091, and it could cause an explosion with a blast radius for miles, taking out S.H.I.E.L.D.'s brain trust. They decide to get May's help.[2][3]
As Dr. Pascal Vega demonstrates a radio watch he has invented, a Chronicom infiltrator in Area 51 plugs herself into the system and activates Project Helius.[2][3]
Yo-Yo Rodriguez and Melinda May enter Area 51, posing as pilots. They drop smoke grenades, knowing any Chronicom present will not react.[2][3]
Sousa leads Johnson to Simmons and "Coulson", and Sousa hands them over. As an alarm blares, "Coulson" throws Sousa into the cell and they lock him in so they can help uninterrupted.[2][3]
Rodriguez and May clear people out of the way of the smoke. May suddenly finds herself having a panic attack, unsure as to why. Rodriguez spots the unfazed Chronicom and tries to speed at her, but once again finds herself failing, as the Chronicom gets away. As May panics, Rodriguez helps her up and out of the room.[2][3]
Helius turns on and starts up, to its guards' surprise.[2][3]
May tells Rodriguez she has never felt like this before, but says she does not want to talk about it. When May asks Rodriguez about her failed speeding, Rodriguez says she does not want to talk either. They pursue the Chronicom.[2][3]
Shaw and Mackenzie are interrupted in Zephyr One by the escaped Gerald Sharpe, who is confused by the futuristic technology he finds. Mackenzie punches him, knocking him out.[2][3]
"Coulson", Simmons, and Johnson find Dr. Vega, who is concerned about Helius. They send him to evacuate the brain trust, knowing, however, that they will not have enough time to get away. Rodriguez and May join them, and see the Chronicom escaping in a truck, heading for Helius.[2][3]
The Chronicom kills the Helius guards, then plugs herself into the reactor to power it. Rodriguez and May catch up, and May attacks her as Rodriguez works on unplugging the cable.[2][3]
Simmons rushes to the prototype EMP Vega showed her previously, hoping to fix it and knock out the power in the area. A man enters, and Johnson goes to have him leave, only for him to attack - another Chronicom infiltrator, who had impersonated scientist Niles Lindmore. "Coulson", matching his strength, tackles him out of the room.[2][3]
The Helius Chronicom trips Rodriguez, but she unplugs the cable.[2][3]
"Coulson" and the Lindmore Chronicom fight in the corridor.[2][3]
The Helius Chronicom wraps the cable around Rodriguez's neck, pinning her, and goes to replug the cable. May holds onto it, restricting the cable's length, while also keeping Rodriguez from strangulation.[2][3]
Daniel Sousa, freed from his cell, comes across "Coulson" and "Lindmore" fighting. When they refuse to stop, Sousa hits the Chronicom with his cane, surprised to find him impervious. The Chronicom then takes the cane, pins Sousa to the wall, and chokes him with it.[2][3]
Simmons finishes working on the EMP and activates it, successfully knocking out all electronics in the area, including the two Chronicoms and "Coulson". The Chronicoms self-destruct.[2][3]
Sousa is confused by "Lindmore's" melted remains. He takes "Coulson's" lifeless body with him, as "Coulson" begins to reactivate.[2][3]
Shaw and Mackenzie trick Sharpe
Wanting to ensure the timeline is preserved, Shaw and Mackenzie drop Sharpe outside Zephyr One, then when he wakes, pretend to have been aliens, warning him not to tell anyone about what he has seen. They fly away, leading him to believe he encountered a UFO.[2][3]
Sharpe rushes to the Flying Rocket Diner and stumbles through the door, rambling about how he was abducted by alien communists from the future, and seen as a madman.[2][3]
22nd
"Phil Coulson" wakes, cuffed to Daniel Sousa's desk. He notices a newspaper, bearing the date "July 22, 1955", and recognizes it as the day history knows to be when Daniel Sousa made a final delivery to Howard Stark, then was killed.[4]
"Coulson" tells Sousa he was his contact, claiming Niles Lindmore, the man the Chronicom posed as, was a turncoat working for the Russians, and that was why they had been fighting. Using his historical knowledge of Sousa's mission to convince Sousa he is part of the assignment, "Coulson" manages to get Sousa to allow him to join, and Sousa lets him go. Knowing Sousa's phone will not connect with Zephyr One, "Coulson" instead calls the speakeasy to contact Enoch.[4]
S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Tom sits at The Krazy Kanoe, the updated New York City speakeasy, telling tales of woe to the bartender "Gemini", Enoch. Enoch receives the call from "Coulson", glad to hear him again after 24 years. He says he wants to rejoin the team, but "Coulson" explains that will have to wait. Enoch says he has developed the long range Zephyr One communication technology, and puts the phone through for "Coulson" to the plane.[4]
On Zephyr One, the team listen to "Coulson", and wonder if the Chronicoms have altered time by killing Lindmore. They realize they have to find Lindmore's faceless body, as he will have Sousa's device that needs delivery. "Coulson" says to meet him on the train to get him the device for Sousa.[4]
Shaw and Rodriguez head to Lindmore's home
Deke Shaw and Yo-Yo Rodriguez drive to Lindmore's home. Rodriguez expresses her frustration at having to make sure the status quo is maintained so the timeline does not break away, instead of being part of positive change to the past.[4]
Kidnapping of Deke Shaw: Shaw and Rodriguez enter the house, cautiously searching for Lindmore's body. Rodriguez finds it, and a briefcase containing the delivery device, which she retrieves. Shaw, meanwhile, is stopped by a thug, Joe, then knocked out from behind by Joe's colleague. Rodriguez hears the thud and finds Shaw missing, kidnapped. She watches the kidnappers drive off, helpless.[4]
Boarding the train to Los Angeles with Sousa, "Coulson" looks out for his team, but finds no one. He sits with Sousa, nervous.[4]
Rodriguez searches for Shaw, rather than delivering the package on time to "Coulson".[4]
Tom continues to recount stories to Enoch at The Krazy Kanoe. Enoch receives another call, this time from Rodriguez at a phone booth. While Enoch hopes he will get to rejoin the team, he is disappointed when Rodriguez also wants to be put through, nonetheless doing so.[4]
On the phone to Director Mackenzie, Rodriguez apologizes for not catching the kidnappers, not having her powers. Mackenzie reassures her, and is glad she got the package, planning to send a Quinjet to her.[4]
On the train, "Coulson" improvises, pretending a nearby passenger was his contact and taking the man's briefcase, telling Sousa it is the package. As they walk along the train, two men who had been keeping an eye on Sousa nearby go to follow.[4]
Zephyr One receives the real package. Simmons is the only one impressed by the gadget inside, until Melinda May, pushing Simmons gently so she can see, also reacts impressed, to the team's confusion. The agents plan to find the train.[4]
Sousa tells "Coulson" he has noticed he is unmarried, and "Coulson" says he was unable to make a relationship of his last. When "Coulson" asks him, Sousa says he had a similar situation. "Coulson" refuses to show Sousa the inside of the case, claiming it is for Howard Stark's eyes only, and is disappointed when he finds out Stark will not be at the drop. Sousa calls Stark pompous, and goes to get a drink. As soon as he is gone, Luke sits opposite "Coulson", saying he has come alone with a proposition.[4]
Luke says he has come to "Coulson" because he will be more understanding as a non-human, arguing that he must see the absurdity and impermanence of humanity. Luke asks that he let them have Earth in return for the Chronicoms treating humans with charity.[4]
As Sousa gets a drink, a woman, Lana, starts a conversation with him. Sousa notices the car being mostly empty.[4]
"Coulson" says he finds Luke's promise hard to believe. Luke threatens to make the fight messier if "Coulson" refuses, but "Coulson" says they will simply escalate in response. However, Luke tells him of the Chronicoms' foreknowledge, without telling him how they have it, and says that they have made a call to make sure Sousa dies now instead of later.[4]
Sousa drinks with Lana, as the two men following Sousa enter the room. Sousa takes note of the men clearing the rest of the people out of the car, and tells Lana he knows she is distracting him while the room is emptied. She tells him to come along quietly, but Sousa starts a fight with the trio. He struggles, but Daisy Johnson and Alphonso Mackenzie arrive, helping him, followed by "Coulson", who accidentally breaks the case open, revealing the inside to just be papers. Mackenzie and Johnson explain they are friendlies and have the package, and say they need to leave, with the Quinjet sitting cloaked on top of the train.[4]
Joe and his colleague take the kidnapped Shaw out of their car.[4]
The agents fly with Sousa back to Zephyr One and dock, knowing they have to keep Sousa safe until he delivers the package. Sousa formally meets Jemma Simmons, and expresses his confusion at the advanced technology. Melinda May shakes his hand, and suddenly feels disoriented. Simmons takes her for help.[4]
The team give Daniel Sousa his package, and Sousa theorizes the same organization behind the train attack took Deke Shaw. He says he does not think it is the Russians.[4]
Shaw's kidnappers take him before their boss, saying Shaw is the scientist they were after, having mistaken him for Niles Lindmore.[4]
"Coulson" realizes Sousa's would-be-killers are HYDRA, not the Russians
Sousa admits to the team that his CIA report was about an investigation he had made into HYDRA having potentially infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D., and the team confirm he is correct. "Phil Coulson" realizes that the history books were wrong about Sousa's death, with HYDRA having killed him for nearly exposing them, not the Russians. "Coulson" is proved correct when he confirms with Sousa that his superior is Wilfred Malick.[4]
The boss introduces himself to Shaw as "Wilfred", and Shaw realizes he is Malick, who does not remember Shaw from 1931. Shaw claims to be a salesman who was visiting Lindmore's house, not a scientist. Malick kills Joe's colleague for kidnapping the wrong man, then turns the gun on Shaw.[4]
Alphonso Mackenzie finds Malick's address. "Coulson" brings up that they are due to deliver Sousa to die, admitting he is uncomfortable, as Mackenzie says that it was easier to let Malick live than it is to let Sousa die. "Coulson" points out Sousa's sacrifice was an inspiration, though Mackenzie argues that Phil Coulson's death inspired the Avengers, yet he got to live another die. "Coulson" wonders, however, if Sousa living is too dangerous for history.[4]
Daisy Johnson admits to Sousa that HYDRA are in deep, but says if he exposes Malick, they will only go deeper underground. Sousa is angered, having lost friends to HYDRA, saying he would give his life for this fight.[4]
Malick and Shaw talk after 24 years
Shaw risks reminding Malick of their encounter in 1931, claiming to have just aged well. He mentions having defended Malick at Hell's Harbor, and Malick puts down his gun, saying he owes Shaw a debt of gratitude for helping him on his way to the top. He lets Shaw leave, and asks Shaw what he was really doing in Lindmore's house. Shaw says he was looking out for his future.[4]
Simmons assesses May, seeing no difference in her vitals to explain her disorientation. Yo-Yo Rodriguez enters, telling Simmons about May's panic attack at Area 51. May says she has recently been feeling nothing, blank, except for sudden moments where she is overwhelmed. Simmons touches her leg in comfort.[4]
Shaw calls Enoch at The Krazy Kanoe, and Enoch anticipates what he is calling for, putting him through to Zephyr One immediately. Tom drunkenly calls Enoch his best friend, but Enoch rejects this, saying Tom does not mean it, and that he is alone.[4]
Shaw talks to "Coulson" and Mackenzie, surprised they have worked out Malick's involvement. Mackenzie announces he is changing the mission, and goes to get Johnson, who comes for a conversation.[4]
May tells Simmons and Rodriguez Area 51 was the first time she has felt anything since the Battle at the Temple of the Forgotten, having visited a world without emotion and lost control of her own. She admits to having been excited about the device in the briefcase, which Rodriguez points out is a reaction only Simmons would have. May says this last episode was not panicked, but confused, and only for an instant. Rodriguez suspects May is picking up on people she contact's feelings. May says she is feeling concerned currently, and when Rodriguez has Simmons let go of May's leg and step back, she feels it less, confirming Rodriguez's theory, which she tells the others. May says when she felt Sousa's confusion, she also felt something else.[4]
The team decides to save Sousa
Mackenzie tells Johnson and "Coulson" that he has decided to make "waves" in time and save Sousa, making the drop for him and figuring things out after.[4]
May explains that she felt Sousa had an urge to run.[4]
Sousa gets on his motorbike and drives off to make his drop, the agents unable to catch him.[4]
A storm rages over the Hotel Roosevelt. Daniel Sousa rolls up on his motorbike and enters.[4]
The team wonder whether they can get to Sousa before his killer.[4]
As Sousa waits for his drop, Joe, sent by Malick for HYDRA, watches from across the room. He gets up and leaves for the phone. Sousa gets his signal from the concierge for the drop.[4]
Joe calls Malick, saying he has seen Sousa, and Malick tells him to make sure he kills him to save the organization.[4]
Some minutes after his arrival, as the clock strikes 22nd July 9PM Los Angeles time, Sousa goes and walks through the hotel, and Joe tails him. However, aware of his tail, Sousa hides and loses him. Sousa looks over his shoulder, checking if he is still being followed, then makes the drop, passing over the case to the concierge, Howard Stark's man.[4]
Sousa turns a corner, only to find the man he thought he had shaken: "Phil Coulson". "Coulson" shoots him with an I.C.E.R. to knock him out, a plan in mind for how to save Sousa without changing time. He begins to take Sousa's clothes.[4]
Joe finds a man with Sousa's jacket and cane, walking by the hotel pool, and shoots him twice in the back, believing him to be his target. However, it is "Phil Coulson", posing as Sousa and knowing that his Life-Model Decoy body can easily take two bullets. He feigns fatal injury, and falls into the pool, face down, his cane sinking to the pool floor.[4]
Joe checks the body. Seeing "Sousa" face down in the water for a long time, he is satisfied that Sousa must be dead.[4]
Joe calls Malick, telling him the job is done, but that Sousa did not have the package.[4]
The concierge stands by the body in the pool, telling the police about Sousa's death. "Coulson" survives despite the long time spent in the water, due to not needing to breathe, and considers their success, having played into the history the books knew: Sousa having completed his mission, and then been recorded dead in the pool, a hero.[4]
Daisy Johnson and Jemma Simmons pose as medical workers, taking "Sousa's dead body" away, in fact retrieving their friend.[4]
With Sousa officially declared deceased as a result of the team faking his death, his story begins to be told: Sousa was a noble agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., who risked his life delivering a vital piece of technology to Howard Stark, and died a hero at the hands of what seemed to be the Russians - the first fallen agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., whose story is considered inspiring to other agents.[4]
Simmons repairs "Coulson's" system
On Zephyr One, Simmons restores "Coulson's" system to normal after the EMP hit. May tests touching "Coulson", finding she does not receive any emotion from the LMD. Rodriguez reunites with Shaw, who says he is not a fan of the status quo he witnessed, and agrees with her that next time, perhaps they will change it.[4]
The team prepare for their next time jump, and Johnson notes that while they could not get to Enoch in time, he should still be present at their next stop. Zephyr One jumps to 1973.[4]
Having remained in 1955 to change time, Luke visits Wilfred Malick, who recognizes his voice as the man who called with the tip about Daniel Sousa's train journey. Luke explains he shares an opposition to S.H.I.E.L.D., just his enemy is a future version, and Luke realizes Deke Shaw to have been one of them. Luke says S.H.I.E.L.D. will destroy everything Malick built, but it can be prevented, so long as Malick does what he says.[4]
